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Sunday, July 31, 2016

Spaghetti and Meatball Casserole

Isn't baked pasta and all if it's melty and browned cheese the best? This is a fun twist on a family favorite dinner!

On top of spaghetti, all covered with cheese. I lost my poor meatball, when somebody sneezed.... This week the Sunday Supper gang is hosted by Ellen from Family Around the Table and we are celebrating childhood favorites. Of course spaghetti and meatballs is one of those foods that makes you feel like a kid again. There is something so fun about long noodles covered in sauce and cheese. Plus there is a satisfaction that comes with taking a bite out of a meatball. But I'll let you in on a little secret. (Shhhhh!) As a parent to a toddler, spaghetti and meatballs are not quite as much fun. Don't get me wrong, it is fun to watch the little guy enjoy himself with a big plate of 'sketti. But as he's slurping the noodles, it is hard not to notice the specks of sauce flying. Then there's the meatballs. The glorious meatballs. They are unlikely to actually go rolling away because of a sneeze, but the chances of one hitting the floor don't seem so astronomical. Then there's the fact that we have light colored carpet on our dining room floor.

Don't ever put light colored carpets on a dining room floor!

It was there when we moved in, but we didn't have a little one yet so we didn't think much of it. We always had a drop cloth under his highchair, so it still wasn't a huge deal when he was younger either. But now he is a big boy and eats at the big table. Really, he does a pretty good job for the most part. There are likely to be almost as many splatters and crumbs around Matt's spot as Jax's. BUUUT, it still makes me nervous. We keep saying we are going to replace the carpet, but it seems a shame to rip it up when it's in pretty good shape.

Plus there's the whole contractor's wife thing. Actually Matt is pretty good about stopping to do a project at the house when I ask him to. I just need to tell him what the project is, pick out the materials and design and then we sync our calendars to find a block of time that will work. We both mark it in and it gets done. But it is really hard to ask him to block of time where he could be doing paying jobs to replace flooring that isn't bad. So one of these days a glass of red wine.... or a meatball will end up on the floor. In the meantime we just try our best not to let that happen!

All of that was the long way of saying I wanted to recreate spaghetti and meatballs so that there wouldn't be as much slurping. And with any luck there wouldn't be any meatball covered in tomato sauce hitting the floor. So, I made spaghetti and meatballs in casserole form. It's easier to serve and fun to eat. Plus there is just something about baked pasta (and all of the accompanying cheese!) that makes it that much better.

It's a new twist on one of my childhood favorites and is sure to be one of Jax's childhood favorites! What are you favorite foods from childhood?

Yield: Generously serves 8Author: Cooking With Carlee

Spaghetti and Meatball Casserole

Isn't baked pasta and all if it's melty and browned cheese the best? This is a fun twist on a family favorite dinner!

Oh. My. Gosh. Yes! We're renting the place we're in now and it has light carpet. EVERYWHERE. (Except bathrooms and kitchen of course) We have two little ones. I keep towels down under their chairs. Once all those college move in sales happen I'll be looking to invest in an area rug or two. I like your casserole form of spaghetti and meatballs. It's perfect for serving to a crowd, too.

It's the worst isn't it? When we moved in, I didn't think much about it because I was pregnant. Now with a toddler I am acutely aware of the carpet! We just bought some canvas drop cloths from the hardware store and used them for the longest time. They were cheap and machine washable. Now that he's at the big table we take our chances and hope for the best!

Spaghetti and meatballs is one of my childhood favorites. I can understand why Jax's absolutely loves it. It's a lot of fun to eat and play with. Especially when you know that Mom's a little apprehensive about the carpet! My mom used to make a baked spaghetti for us and we loved it. It was actually a baked spaghetti Pizza. It had spaghetti noodles and sauce and beef on the bottom and then it was topped off with pepperoni, pizza sauce and mozzarella. I make it for our family too and it is one of our favorites. It has such a different texture when it's baked, doesn't it? Especially when the cheese is nice and toasty on top. Yum.

Goodness, you have me going down memory lane with "on top of spaghetti"! Right back to my grandmothers house! And that has me remembering her best baked chicken dish. Have to see if I can remember how she did that. This dish looks great! Meatballs are the best way to enjoy spaghetti!